Mexican GP: Pirelli Grand Prix Preview
By Courtesy of Pirelli
October 22 2019
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Pirelli Mexican Grand Prix Preview |
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Mexico is a relatively new
circuit that has its roots firmly in the past, and it contains a bit of
everything. Tyres from right in the middle of Pirelli’s range have been
chosen for both legs of Formula 1’s American double-header, with Mexico
going first this year, followed by the United States a week later. So at the
Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez – named after Mexico’s two most celebrated
racing drivers – we’ll see the C2 as the White hard, C3 as the Yellow
medium, and C4 as the Red soft. Last year, Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton
won the drivers’ title at the Mexican Grand Prix: this year he has another
chance to seal the championship once more in Mexico City. |
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TRACK CHARACTERISTICS
* As has been seen at a few races already this year, most recently the last
round in Japan, the 2019 tyre choice for Mexico is a step harder than its
2018 equivalent. This is because the teams tend to aim for a one-stopper, so
a harder choice allows them to push hard from the start to the finish of
every stint, rather than rely on pace management.
* Having said that, a two-stopper was the winning strategy last year from
Max Verstappen and Red Bull (at a race affected by a virtual safety car)
with an ample range of tactics seen. Five of the top 10 went for a
one-stopper, while there were six different strategies inside the
points-paying places. Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas sealed fifth place
even with three stops.
* Mexico is a mixed circuit, with a wide variety of speeds and corners. As
well as two very rapid straights, there’s a twisty stadium section (quite
literally, as it's an old baseball stadium) where the famous Peraltada
corner used to be.
* Some graining was noted with last year’s softer selection, which should
hopefully be reduced with this year’s harder compound choices. That graining
was also the result of Mexico’s high altitude, with the thin air generating
less downforce and so causing the cars to slide more.
* Despite this, both the overall lap records and race lap records were
broken in Mexico last year. |
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MARIO ISOLA - HEAD OF CAR
RACING
“Mexico has always been a tough and unpredictable race with a fantastic
atmosphere: especially in the stadium section, where the drivers say that
they can hear the fans cheering. There are some good overtaking
opportunities over the course of the lap, and we’ve also seen a number of
different strategic approaches in the past, as well as quite variable
weather conditions. The altitude of Mexico City definitely affects the cars
and the set-up, and this has a knock-on effect for the tyres as well. Even a
high-downforce setting can feel like low downforce, so there can be a lot of
sliding. Once more, we’ve brought a harder selection of compounds compared
to last year: this should enable drivers to push the tyres to the maximum”
OTHER PIRELLI NEWS
* The next 18-inch test of Pirelli’s 2020 Formula 2 tyres is in France, just
before the Mexican Grand Prix. Unlike the previous test at Barcelona, which
shared the track with Formula 1, this is an exclusive F2 test, with the
Formula 2 test car able to run continuously. The next sessions after that
will be in Spain and Abu Dhabi.
* Pirelli Hot Laps programme is in place for both the Mexican Grand Prix and
United States Grand Prix, giving lucky guests the chance to experience
action on an F1 track with a racing driver during a grand prix weekend.
* Both Ferrari drivers and Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton have chosen an
identical tyre allocation for Mexico. Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas has
gone for an extra set of hards, while Red Bull has loaded up on softs. |
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